Yasiv Marin | Make-Up Blog

Media - Metro Vancouver

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:46:00 +0000

Below is a recent article in the Metro Vancouver newspaper that I was featured in...

Alex's Wedding Day

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:38:00 +0000

I also got the opportunity to work on one of my hair assistant's makeup for her wedding day! Meet Alexandra, one of my fabulous co-workers! She got married early this year and I arrived at her home to do her makeup. Here's a photo of us once I was all finished glamming her up... and yes, this first photo was taken in the bathroom where she was glancing in the mirror and inspecting to make sure she was extra gorgeous.

Anna's Wedding Day!

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:09:00 +0000

For Anna's October sunny wedding day, my amazing hair assistant Melanie & I arrived early at the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver to work on the hair & makeup for the bride and her 3 lovely bridesmaids.

Anna's theme colors were red & white...and I will never forget the beautiful & sparkly bright red "Dorothy" shoes that she wore.

Below are a few pics from her big day. Thank you Anna for allowing me to use your lovely photos!! You gals were awesome; we had sooo much fun dolling you ladies up!

And here's the happy couple! Love this shot...it's so titanic!

some more pics

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 09:07:00 +0000

Here are a few more recent pictures of me working on some clients for weddings, fashion shows and makeup parties. Wish I didn't look so serious in the shots, but I was highly concentrated on my art work and the photos were shot randomly. I honestly don't even notice when the photographers are snapping away but one of these days I'll try to remember to smile and say "cheese" for one and post it up! :)

Please click to enlarge...

Bacardi Fashion Show

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:39:00 +0000

This past June I had the opportunity to key what turned out an awesome fashion show at Celebrity's nightclub.

I was asked to gather up a team of 6 hairstylists & makeup artists (myself included) and together doll up 15 already gorgeous male & female models. All of them being very successful models from Vancouver. One of them was Sisi from the reality tv show "Canada's Next Top Model".

They all looked fabulous while getting to model the latest styles of Rock and Republic, Lady Dutch, Citizens of Humanity and 7 for all Mankind clothing.

It was a great show and at the same time Bacardi launched their new delicious flavour "Bacardi Breezer Raspberry Dragonfly" which everyone got to sample for free all night long! The pretty bright pink bottle the drink comes in is what first attracted me to taste it, and it was absolutely delicious! But don't worry... I only drank once I was completely done with doing makeup! :)

The team of 6 of us makeup & hairstylists: Rouve, Alexandra, Melanie, Zofia, Tom & I. Thank you for all your help guys, your the best! I'd also like to thank two wonderful ladies who made it all possible for us, Jennifer Isted & Elizabeth Walsh... big hug to you both!

Below are a few pics from the show for all to enjoy!

Cecilia's Wedding Day!

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 06:34:00 +0000

For Cecilia's April wedding, my two wonderful hair assistants Melanie & Alexandra and I arrived at the beautiful River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, bright and early to work on the lovely group of ladies.

Cecilia had a hair theme for her bridesmaids which was one of a kind; they all had 1930's hair style which turned out absolutely gorgeous! It was just brilliant!

The pictures speak for themselves and tell you her fairy tale wedding story. Thank you Cecilia for allowing me to use your fabulous photos!

And here's the happy couple!

Betty's Wedding Day Story

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Fri, 25 May 2007 07:37:00 +0000

Another one of my recent bride's, the lovely Betty, has kindly allowed me to use some of her photos to post up on my blog.

For Betty's February wedding day, I arrived at a room at the beautiful & romantic Brockhouse Restaurant in Vancouver to do the makeup for her & her maid of honour, Andrea.

I first started off with Andrea's makeup. She mentioned to me that she was comfortable with wearing makeup and that she wanted a pretty style that would match her gorgeous slinky black dress. Below is her finished look, which she very much liked.

Betty on the other hand wanted to have a very natural, angelic makeup style. She explained to me that she normally didn't wear much make-up at all, and that she wanted her application to be as soft as possible. Her skin was already literally flawless, so I ended up giving her a natural look in a breeze. Here's a photo of me applying on her eyeliner.

Here's a pic of the both of them once they were both ready!

And here are some more lovely pictures of the bride & groom...

My Pro Makeup Kit

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:41:00 +0000

Want to know what I carry in my make-up kit? Well I imagine you're probably curious, so I'll tell you.

In my kit I have a little bit of everything: MAC, Clinique, Merle Norman, Makeup Forever, Lise Watier, Niko, Mehron, Rimmel, Estee Lauder, Cargo, Orra, NAO, Smashbox, Christian Dior, Ben Nye, Celebre, L'Oreal, Cinema Secrets, Dermablend, Kryolan, and more...

I carry over 120 eye shadows, over 100 different shades of lipsticks & lip glosses, over 15 shades of blushes & concealers, perfect to match and go with every skin tone out there!

Like I always say, every brand out there carries something great. There is no such thing as "the best brand". As long as the makeup truly lasts and enhances your beauty, that's all that matters. Below is a recent photograph of my makeup kit. Voila!

Tanya Tagaq Gillis

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 09:40:00 +0000

Over the winter, in collaboration with my talented photographer friend Sarah Race, I did a photo shoot makeup for Canadian Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq Gillis. She is a popular composer and performer who developed her own solo form of Inuit throat singing, which is normally done by two women. Because of her unique talent, Tanya was quickly discovered and has collaborated and toured all over the world with big artists including Bjork and the Kronos Quartet.

Tanya's debut album was released in October of 2002. Her music is stunning emotions and provocative sounds of aggressive grunts and growls, gasping rhythms, moans & sighs; it is truly impressive. She won the best female artist at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards in 2005.

While doing her make-up, I got a chance to chat with her for a bit and I must say she is a beautiful person inside as she is on the outside. Not only is she incredibly talented, but she's got a sweet personality as well as a contagious sense of humor.

Tanya was featured here on the cover (above) of the winter 2006 issue of Words & Music Magazine by Socan where you can see the makeup job I did on her. The beautiful shots were taken by Vancouver photographer Sarah Race.

Below is a picture of us during the shoot. From the left; myself, Tanya, Sarah...

Annabelle Event

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 02:22:00 +0000

I recently participated in the "Annabelle Model Search" event at Metrotown, which was so much fun!

Along with other local artists, I got to do makeup on participants interested in winning the big model search. The winner will get to appear on 2007 Annabelle promotional material and gets a one year contract with a big modeling agency, a trip & shopping spree. At the moment we don't know who won, but we will eventually. I hope that I got to do her makeup at the event though! :)

We all used Annabelle makeup and Marcelle products, which I was a bit familiar with, but what I didn’t realize was how many zillions of great products they have!

For those of you that may not know, the Annabelle line is wonderful yet affordable. I was really amazed with their brushes and best of all... they’re all less than $12 each.

Their eye pencils are smudge proof & waterproof... and they come in the most beautiful bright colors! Ever since then, I started using them on my clients and even bought a few for myself. I highly recommend their lip glosses & I’m also obsessed with their duo bronzer in "Golden Glow". I can’t seem to live without that at the moment... I feel naked without it on.

Below are a couple of pics of me at work at the event:

Ani's Wedding Day Story

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 03:16:00 +0000

If you've ever wondered what actually goes on when my hair assistants (in this
case it's Melanie) & I come over to your home or hotel room on the actual day of you wedding, I am about to explain & show you all with pictures. Thanks to one of my recent bride's (the lovely Ani) who has kindly allowed me to use her photos to post up on my website... you will get an idea of what will go on....on the day of your wedding! :)

---- (you can click on the pics to enlarge them...)

-Melanie & I arrive to Ani's home and we get started on her bridesmaids. Hairstyling usually goes first (to prevent hairspray from getting on a freshly made-up face), and then once the first client's hair is done, I get started with her makeup... and the routine continues. The bride is usually done last because I want her makeup to be the freshest.

-Dolling up the bride's mother is a must... as she wants to look absolutely stunning next to her daughter as well.

-Once the bride's hair has been styled, I begin with her makeup. Ani looks gorgeous already! But I'm just going to emphasize her beautiful features and give her a natural, glowy and angelic look.

-Ani's makeup is almost done... just the lipstick left to be applied and she'll be all ready to go... she gets excited!

-It's now time for the bride to hop into her gown. I do some last minute touch-ups to make sure she looks perfect.

-Here's a fun picture of Ani with her 4 bridesmaids. Smile!

-Ani's brother puts a pretty necklace on her!

-Here's the lovely couple!

Here are a couple pix of me at work

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 07:47:00 +0000

How to temporarily conceal your tattoo

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 03:47:00 +0000

Have you ever needed or wanted to temporarily conceal your tattoo for a special occasion and had no idea how to do it?

If you’re able to reach your tattoo, you’ll be able to do the trick on yourself. If your tattoo is located on your back or other places that you cannot possibly reach, I’m sure you can find a friend or relative that can help you out. You only need a few items and products to do the trick... it’s painless and quick. In fact, it should only take you about 5 minutes or so and I’ll teach you exactly what to do. It might take you a couple of practice sessions to get it to look flawless though, but you’ll get it...

List of products you’ll need:

Kryolan Tattoo Cover (or you can also use Dermablend, Cover FX or Cinema Secrets Concealer instead) either of these products will work great because they have excellent pigment. You can also use these products to temporarily conceal any types of skin imperfections such as scars, acne, and skin discolorations. Choose the one that best matches your skin tone.

Concealer brush: You can choose either a small or larger brush; choose one depending on the size of your tattoo.

A foundation that matches your skin tone & a clean sponge

Translucent powder & powder puff

Begin: Using your concealer brush, gently start applying & tapping the tattoo coverage right onto your tattoo. You might need to apply quite a bit on. Once you’re done, pour some of your foundation onto your clean sponge and start dabbing it right over top of your concealed tattoo.

To complete the process, use some of the translucent powder on your powder puff and apply right overtop. This will make set the makeup and keep it looking matte.

And voila! You’re done!

5 easy steps to create the “smokey eye” look

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Wed, 24 May 2006 06:17:00 +0000

Tips before you begin:

For best results, it's always a great idea to use professional brushes in order for your eye makeup to look perfectly blended when you’re using two or more colors.
It’s a good idea to apply a whole lot of translucent powder right underneath your eyes for just incase some shadow does fall... because at the end, you can then dust everything right off with a big soft powder brush.
To prevent color from falling underneath your eyes, after you dip your brushes in your eye shadows, always remember to tap the excess off before application.
To create a beautiful smokey eye, it does take some time, sometimes up to 15 minutes per eye. Plus, always remember to blend, blend, and blend some more.

Begin:

I usually like to start by applying black eyeliner across the base of your top lashes. Make sure it’s not too thick, but not too thin either. I usually prefer to apply eyeliner with a slanted brush.
Now with your lightest color of brown eye shadow, shade the contour area (I call it the rainbow area) of your eye lightly, moving upwards a bit. Be sure not to shade too high underneath the eyebrow area though. It is the light brown that will create the really nice "smokey" effect.
Next, starting at the outer & middle corners of your eye, begin applying black eye shadow at the base of your top lashes, and gently moving upwards towards the light brown "smokey" shaded area. Apply darkest with your black shadow at the base of your lashes, and go lighter as you move upwards. What you want to do (which might be the trickiest part) is connect the two colors (the black & light brown) and gently blend them together without mixing them too much, otherwise your colors will look muddy.
To highlight, and to give a lift & open up your eyes, apply a bit of shimmery white eye shadow right underneath your brows as well as at the inner corners of your eyes & blend a bit towards your smokey eye shadow.
Apply black eyeliner (if you like) to the base of your bottom lashes now & gently blend downwards with a Q-tip for a smokey effect. You can now curl your lashes & apply your favorite mascara... and you’re done! Always remember that practice makes perfect.

How to properly apply false lashes

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 06:21:00 +0000

False lashes are perfect for every woman! They come in all sorts of sizes and they give you that instant glamorous look. There are 2 types of false lashes: a full strip that you'd apply to the entire lash line & individual lashes, which you apply to the top end outer corners of your eyes.

Before applying on a full strip of false lashes, I recommend that you put on eyeliner (pencil or liquid) on your entire lash line first. This will help conceal the lash band. Then you'd pick up your false lash and measure them close to your natural lashes... this is for just incase the falsies need to be cut to be the exact measurement of your eye. Cut them if you need to, then go on to applying a thin layer of eyelash glue (I recommend DUO waterproof glue) on the first false lash... make sure you apply the glue to the inside of the lash band instead of the outside. Now start applying the false lash on as close to your natural line as possible, once you've got it in place, press the lash down for a few seconds on the outside of the eye... and I recommend waiting about 3 minutes until the glue dries, this prevents them from moving around. Your false lashes should stay put for many hours to come.

With the individual false lashes, all you need to do is dip the bottom tip in a bit of eyelash glue and they carefully start applying them to the outermost corners of your eye and work your way in. You should only need about 3 to 5 individual lashes on each eye to dramatically open up the eye area. After you've applied your false lashes on and waited about 3 minutes for the glue to dry, apply mascara on to join your real lashes with the false ones; this will give you a more beautiful, and full effect.

Powder bronzers for your face

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 07:05:00 +0000

To achieve a sun kissed, gold brown look to your skin, use a bronzer on certain areas of your face. There are many different forms of bronzers, but I prefer to use either the loose or pressed powder bronzers myself. You’ll love the healthy, and sexy look it will give you.

A bronzer is the perfect substitute for having a beautiful glow without going under harsh outdoor sunlight or extremely harmful rays you get from tanning beds. Always start with a light bronzer shade. If you like the effect, you can then decide to move up to a darker color. Always apply with a good quality, soft powder/blush brush to smoothly and evenly distribute the color; this will help even the deepest bronzers to go on beautifully without streaking.

You should apply a bronzer in areas where the sun usually hits your face, normally on your cheekbones, bridge of the nose, chin, and lightly on your forehead. You can use them all year round, but for the summer time, bronzers are especially a great substitute to your blush. For color on your cheeks, always apply directly on the apples of your cheeks and blend out and up towards the temple area; but not too high.

Remember to never ever apply too close to the nose either. Some bronzers are very good for your skin since some contain natural sunscreen. You can even buy some with specks of shimmer for that extra glow.

Below are some good quality powder bronzers you can try out; starting from the most affordable:

CG Bronzer by Cover Girl
Revlon SkinLights face illuminator powder bronzer
L’Oreal Translucide lasting luminous powder
Lise Watier Satellite natural bronzing powder
Laura Mercier duo toned bronzing powder

Foundation Primer

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 06:51:00 +0000

Many girls skip a very important step in their makeup application, a foundation primer. This type of product helps you create a perfect canvas for foundation application. I find that Quo makes the best foundation primer for dry skin types because it’s got a bit of an oily texture but it’s not greasy. You’d apply this product after you’ve cleansed, toned and moisturized your skin. You can use either your fingers or a fresh sponge to apply this product on but avoid the eye area. Quo does sell separate eye primers that are meant to be applied around the entire eye lid and eye area. I think it’s best to massage on foundation primer gently to the face with your fingers and then wait about 2 minutes to let your skin absorb the product. Any dry areas that were there before you applied this primer should have disappeared as soon as you massaged this product on. This will smooth your skin and give your foundation that you’d put on next, a longer wear.

Protecting your lips

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 06:41:00 +0000

As we all might already know, we have to protect our skin from everyday sun, wind, and all environmental damage. The best way to prevent damage is to wear SPF of at least 15. Your lips are at risk as well but many people seem to ignore protecting them. If you want moist, kissable, healthy lips M.A.C also makes a wonderful product called Tinted Lip Conditioner SPF 15. It comes in a small 15ml jar and is available in many different shades of colors but you can also get it color free and they all have a nice vanilla scent to them. It's very lightweight and it conditions and gently repairs dry or cracked lips. But it’s so important to use a product like this to prevent lip damage and not just to repair. Use it all year round and you'll always have young, soft, beautiful lips. This product is definitely one of my favorites!

How to control oily skin

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Sun, 25 Dec 2005 22:40:00 +0000

If you have very oily skin, there's a great product that M.A.C makes that will help you out. It's called "Matte" and it’s basically a colorless gel that comes in a clear 25ml tube. After you've cleansed, toned and moisturized you're skin, you use your fingers or a fresh sponge to apply a bit of this product on the areas that tend to go shiny such as your forehead, nose, chin and cheeks. You can even use it on your eyelids to help increase the longevity of your eye shadow. It’s best to wait about 2 minutes to let your skin absorb the smooth gel, then go ahead and apply your foundation and/or powder. Otherwise you can also use it on your bare skin if you don’t use makeup. Your face will stay shine free for hours. For so long I was always hesitant about trying anti-shine agents. I guess I just didn’t believe they would work, until I eventually tried it. I’ve used many different brands and I found that the M.A.C Matte works the best... it just really controls my oily t-zone. I also use it on clients all the time and they’re always satisfied with the end results... this stuff really works!

Shu Uemura eyelash curler

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 19:01:00 +0000

Now we've all probably used many different brands of eyelash curlers. Most of them don't curl your lashes properly because they come with cheap rubber pads, every makeup artist knows this.

The best eyelash curler out there is from Shu Uemura. You need to buy one of these, trust me! You can order them online for $18 at Sephora.

This eyelash curler is exclusively designed to curve and suit all eye shapes. It achieves beautifully curled eyelashes with a gentle touch. It's made out of stainless steel and ensures a maximum precision since it's got a rounded silicone rubber pad that allows the appropriate amount of pressure to curl lashes naturally. Then you can apply your favorite mascara and your curled lashes will remain in perfect shape all day. I wouldn't change mine to any other brand. This is, hands down, the best eyelash curler in the world!

Airbrushing

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 05:53:00 +0000

Whether it's done to apply your makeup on, or done to your entire body to make it look like you're wearing actual clothes when your not, or to create a cool design on your skin.....airbrushing is the most exciting and newest system to come out yet.

To be able to use an airbrush it takes a lot of practice as well as good hand-eye coordination. An airbrush itself is a pen-sized tool that delivers color to a surface with the aid of an air source such as a compressor. It delivers color without actually touching the surface. The spray pattern consists of hundreds of dots of color which fall adjacent to each other, therefore giving you a glowing, even look.

Every girl wants flawless skin no matter what, but on a special day such as your wedding day it's an absolute must to have perfect skin and having your makeup airbrushed on will do just that. Getting it done feels really nice....it's very relaxing, it feels like a soft breeze blowing on your face. You just close your eyes and enjoy the mist.

You can even get your tan airbrushed on as well. As we all know, sitting in the hot sun for hours will increase your chances of getting skin cancer....tanning booths are even worse. I once went in a tanning booth for 20 minutes and when I came out, I realized my skin was very wrinkly all over so I never did that again. I don't think a lot of women realize how damaging booths can be. It's kind of like being in a microwave and cooking your insides slowly. Getting your tan airbrushed on only takes a few short minutes (maximum 15 min) and you will have a healthy looking, beautiful, golden, and even tan that will last up to 7 days! And there's no need to worry about anything because it's absolutely safe!

For special events and holidays you can also get creative and design something....anything really that you'd like to be turned into or a design you'd like airbrushed onto your skin. It's all about your individuality and personality. It's impossible to do it on yourself, so all you have to do is let a trained artist as myself to help you accomplish your look. Ofcourse the look is only temporary and it may take several hours to airbrush your design on, but when people see it on you and give you wonderful complements and when they tell you they want to try it as well sometime.....you'll know it was all worth it in the end!

Skin Tips & Tricks!

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 07:04:00 +0000

I'm sure we've all woken up one day, looked in the mirror, and discovered some sort of major skin emergency. Well sometimes some of us just don't know what to do.....and I'd like to share some more tips so that hopefully they can help you girls out during emergencies. I mean, what if one of these problems hit on an important day like on your first day of school, first date, prom day, wedding day, or any special occasion?

Lip Problem

You have severe cracked lips....and yikes, don't even think of picking at them......you might make them bleed if you do that. Instead, try putting some vaseline on them and with your toothbrush gently scrub your lips until the crustyness is gone. That should do the trick... your lips should now be smooth. Try to get a separate toothbrush just for your lips, it's more hygienic that way. You can also apply vaseline as lipgloss because it moisturizes them wonderfully and keeps them soft.

There's also one other quick way to get smooth lips. There's a product sold at The Body Shop that works as a lip scrub. It comes in the shape of a lipstick... it's called "lip scuff" and basically you just apply it on like lipstick, then you massage your lips with your finger for a minute and then wipe the product off with a tissue! Your lips should be super soft and smooth afterwards.

Skin Discolorations

Whether it's a bruise, a pimple, a hickey, or redness on your face, you don't want it to be visible! You're face is what you present to the world and you want to hide any obvious discolorations as best as possible. The best products to use for these situations is a professional concealer such as cinema secrets concealer palette or Kryolan cover palette which has strong pigments that are even able to conceal tattoos. Just so you know, concealer is applied first and for greater coverage you then apply foundation. You can get these products at HollyNorth in Burnaby. You can check out their website at HollyNorth.

Cold Sores

If you're one of those people that are prone to cold sores you need to know that as soon as you feel the tingling sensation around your lip area you need to go get a product called Lipactin at your nearest pharmacy. It's only about $7 and you don't need a prescription for this product. Some pharmacies keep it inside the pharmacy but most don't. If you can't find it just ask the pharmacist. It will get rid of the cold sore only if you apply it (comes in gel form) before the cold sore actually appears. It's a good idea to buy one now and keep it in your purse just incase, because you never know when a huge one might want to appear. It's a tiny product, smaller than a lipstick so it won't take up too much purse space. Be sure to check that it's got a good expiry date on it as well.

Sensitive Skin

Is your skin so sensitive that when you apply foundations or makeup you find that you break out or get a minor skin irritation? I have another little tip to share. You should try a product called Barrier Cream. You can buy this product at you nearest pharmacy as well. It's only around $5 and what you do is put it on as your moisturizer first, wait about 5 minutes, then apply your foundation or whatever makeup afterwards. It works as a barrier so it's actually protecting your skin from whatever you put on next.

Hopefully you have learned something new.

How to have the best skin

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 06:01:00 +0000

A lot of people comment on my great skin. I usually tell them "Awe, thanks, that's so sweet!" But you see, there's a little secret they don't know though........I used to have severe acne and after being on prescription medications for a little while, my skin completely cleared up. Nobody seems to believe me though. I never thought I'd have people saying such nice things about my complexion. I still do have a few little scars here and there, but makeup covers up those imperfections. Even though medication got rid of the acne, I still have to make sure my skin always looks soft, healthy and glowing. The following is how I take care of my own skin. Hopefully my little techniques will help you out as well.

Skin Do's

Do moisturize everyday! Make sure your moisturizer has an SPF of atleast 15. SPF prevents age spots and will protect your skin from the harmful rays of the sun which cause and increase wrinkles. My personal favorite that I use every morning is "Proactiv oil free moisture with SPF 15". I buy mine online at www.proactiv.com

Do use eye cream in the morning and at night time. The eye area is very sensitive and delicate. You shouldn't use moisturizer in the eye area because that can create little gross bumps under your eyes. Eye creams firm up and refresh the eye area and also diminishes the wrinkling process. My personal favorite is "Kiehl's creamy eye treatment with avocado", which you can buy at Holt Renfrew or buy online at www.kiehls.com

Do exfoliate once a week, or treat yourself to the spa when you get a chance and get a wonderful facial. Exfoliating gets rid of dead skin cells on the surface of your skin, and can even get rid of some blackheads and whiteheads. By exfoliating weekly, your skin will always look healthy and soft. My personal favorite is "St. Ives Apricot Scrub" which you can buy for about $5 at any drug store.

Do remove your makeup every night before you go to bed. Your skin needs to breathe at night and if you sleep with your makeup on frequently, you will get lots of wrinkles not to mention pimples as well. My personal favorite is "Oil of olay cleansing cloths", the ones you moisten yourself by adding water. I don't like the premoistened ones because I find that they're too cold on your face. I prefer to moisten the dry ones with nice warm water.

Do moisturize before you go to bed as well. Since my skin has always been prone to blemishes my personal favorite is "proactiv repairing lotion", which you can also get online as well. You can also buy these proactiv products at little booths in the malls. I've seen them at Metrotown and Guildford mall.

By the way:
As a Makeup Artist, I can usually tell if a client is a smoker just by looking at them. They tend to have very droopy and wrinkly skin, or sometimes it's the fact that the client likes to tan a lot. If you're a smoker, what I'm about to say shouldn't surprise you. Following all these steps will absolutely be useless to you. You should already know that smoking is very damaging to your skin so no matter how much you take try to take care of it........you will be unsuccessful. I've seen the damage it does to beautiful people over a certain amount of time. Sadly, there's nothing they can do about it now.....so don't even start, and if you do smoke, you should try to stop before your skin does look ruined if it already isn't. Remember, this is the only skin you'll ever have, so it's up to you to take care of it!

The Perfect Makeup Kit

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Mon, 23 May 2005 07:53:00 +0000

Do you have a cosmetic bag that is just full of so much unnecessary stuff? It's time to clean it up and organize it into the items and products that you'll use. Be sure to toss out any makeup that you've had for over a year, they may be expired you know. Back in my early teens I remember finding a cream eyeshadow that I hadn't used in a long long time, and then one day I decided to put it on again and guess what happened? I ended up getting a horrible eye infection. My eyes swelled up and I couldn't open them properly for 3 days and I wouldn't leave my house until they healed because I was contagious. Then another time, same thing happened when I tried on an old lipstick, I must have had it for like 2 years, and my lips swelled up as well. It's time to separate the things you'll definitely need, things you might need, and things you won't need. So let me help you out.

The Perfect Makeup Kit

Now a days there's just too many great products out there that we just want to have it all. But when it comes to our makeup bag we want to be able to find things quick and easy. Specially because I know we all take it everywhere we go. Stop carrying 10 pounds of makeup! All you need is atleast 10 basic items.....

Things you'll definitely need:

1) Concealer (For imperfections and the occasional pimples).

2) Your foundation or tinted moisturizer (To even out your skintone) If you already have an even skintone, you probably don't even need this.

3) A pressed powder compact with mirror.

4) A Lip liner (should match your lipstick).

5) Your favorite shade of lipstick or lip gloss.

6) An eyeshadow pallet with 1 to 2 different colors & one that also comes with a shadow brush.

7) Your favorite shade of Eyeliner

8) An eyelash curler (this makes a huge difference with your eyelashes, I can't live without mine).

9) Mascara (I can't live without this either).

10) Your favorite blush color or bronzer that hopefully
comes with a brush.

That's basically all you should need but if you do have a makeup bag that can hold more stuff you might as well add a few more things. Now these items are nice to have as well but aren't that necessary, so only add them if you have enough room in your bag.

Things you might not need:

- A set of mini makeup brushes
- Nail polish
- Tweezers
- Blotting papers
- A face moisturizer sample
- A hand cream sample
- A perfume sample

Things you won't need:

These are the items that you haven't used in years, so chuck them cause you don't want to risk an infection. Bacteria tends to grow only on items that are moist like lipsticks, glosses, mascaras, cream eyeshadows, and liquid eyeliners. It's hard for bacteria to grow on dry products like pressed powder and powder eyeshadows so those should be alright for a long while, but if you're in doubt, or if the color changed, it's a good idea to get rid of them. Foundations tend to have expiry dates on them so be sure to check that. Also, try to keep you makeup bag nice and clean, I've seen a lot of people's nasty ones before....it's disgusting! They need to either wash them or buy a new one! Have fun sorting! You'll have an organized bag in no time.

How to get rid of acne scars

noreply@blogger.com (yasiv) — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 08:26:00 +0000

Today I'd like to share how to get rid of acne scars that you've had for years....How do I know? Well, I went through this myself and it's the only thing that worked for me. So stop hiding your acne scars and do something about it! I could have done this a long time ago but I just didn't know this option was out there. I hope this helps some of you out!

How do I get rid of them?!!!!

As most of you already know.....if you've been reading my other posts, I did have really bad acne before......it was so bad that I even had it all over my entire back and I couldn't even wear tank tops in the summer time....or anything that showed off my back because my back used to be really ugly, red, bumpy, and very badly scarred since I used to scratch it too. With medications, my acne did clear up in no time, but my scars were still there. My doctor had told me that the only way to get rid of my scars was surgery, and that medical would definitely not cover the expenses. I tried all sorts of acne lotions, and I even tried tanning booths to see if that could even out my skintone since my scars were like 3 shades darker than my normal skintone, but nothing worked.....then one day I heard about microdermabrasion.

Apparently this technique could remove dark spots on your face, or anywhere. I ended up going to Spa Utopia in Langley....after a free consultation with Tanya, I knew it was worth a try. She did tell me that it might not work on my scars because they'd been there for many years and that after one treatment I might not even see a difference.....but still, anything was worth a shot, I mean nothing else had worked on me so we might as well give this a try. So I made my appointment.

I was so excited when the day came. They began cleansing the area.....it felt really nice and very relaxing! Then the actual microdermabrasion process began and it kind of hurt me at first because it felt like something sharp and pointy was scratching your back, but after a minute, I got used to the feeling. Microdermabrasion basically removes your top layer of skin. They kept doing that for about 20 minutes.....then towards the end of the treatment, I got like a mini massage because she rubbed all these products on me that would help my skin heal. One treatment is about 40 minutes long. After your treatment, you're not allowed to expose the area to sunlight for a long time, or else your scars will come back, and you have to wear sunscreen just incase.

I ended up doing 4 microdermabrasion treatments over a 4 month period....along with having to apply a skin lightening serum every single day at bedtime for those 4 months....the total cost was approximately about $1,000. Although this treatment was quite expensive, I'm now happy to say that my back is completely clear now. I also exfoliate my back twice a week to prevent new breakouts. For me it was worth it because it really rejuvenated my back and I can now wear tanktops in the summer and have my hair up in a pony tail and feel very confident that no one is starring at my scars. Microdermabrasion was a blessing for me. Not only will it get rid of scars, but it will remove blackheads and whiteheads you may have deep beneath and it will also polish your skin. You can even have it done on your face, neck and hands as well. It's just another way to have beautiful skin.....and the results are absolutely amazing!